Russell BEARDSMORE

If one match suggested that Alex Ferguson's Old Trafford reign wasn't to end in tabloid ignominy, it was the New Year's Day 1989 fixture against perennial eighties champions Liverpool. Hitherto, Fergie had assembled a dysfunctional team of journeymen pros and inherited underachievers most of whom seemed past their best while opponents Liverpool boasted Barnes, Beardsley and Aldridge - a forward line that had critics salivating all year. Yet incredibly United ran out easy winners following a hysterical three-goals-in-ten minutes period early in the second half. And, even more incredibly, the catalyst for this remarkable result was a player starting just his third senior game and began the rout by scoring his first senior goal. Wigan-born 20 year-old Russell Beardsmore was a waif-like winger with the pallor of a chimney sweep. Indeed, so frail was he that supporters would audibly wince when he faced the likes of Stuart Pearce and Neil Pointon.

Yet for over two seasons he was a regular in the first team, Beardsmore's determination to overcome obvious physical limitations a spur to his more physically endowed team-mates. By the end of January 1989 Russell had been joined by Tony Gill, Lee Martin, Deniol Graham and Lee Sharpe in a young team soon dubbed Fergie's Fledglingsby the national press. However, those games proved to be the zenith of Beardsmore's career and, though he remained a regular for the 88/89 and 89/90 seasons, he missed both the FA Cup and Cup Winners Cup campaigns that finally broke Fergie's silverware duck. Russell made way for Lee Sharpe and, finding himself consistently sidelined from the first team squad, Beardsmore tentatively agreed a move to Blackburn Rovers in December '91 before the transfer fell through. He later joined Bournemouth on a free transfer having made a total of 56 league appearances for United. (Ashley Shaw)